A Series of Smiles
by cloudymagnolia
Summary: As Touya and Yukito become friends and family to each other, Touya is stunned again and again by the brilliance of Yukito's personality. But every light has its shadow, and Yukito might need some help coming to terms with his... Epilogue Up! T/Y
1. A Series of Smiles

Preliminary notes:

Premise: The CCS manga says that Touya took Yukito over to his house on his first day of school. This is my attempt at unifying that with my image of Touya as being cool, cold, and distant.

Yuki/Touya Friendship with the hint of a possibility of something more.

***

***

Touya had learned, as a very young child, to keep his emotions hidden. It was safer that way. While other little kids cried from falls, or disappointments, or the fear of the unknown, Touya cried when he saw something that no one else could. The first few times it happened, he would run to his mother and explain what he had seen.

"That man is missing half his face!" he'd wail, pointing to an empty patch of grass in the park. His mother – barely an adult herself when Touya was small, young enough yet to remember the pain of childhood – would dry his tears and hold him close, whispering that the half-faced man was nothing to be frightened of. It was Nadeshiko who first taught him how to talk to the spirits.

But when Touya went to school, he slowly learned that his teachers were not as sympathetic as his mother. They were worried and perplexed the first few times Touya started crying and desperately trying to point out apparitions to his teachers that only he could see. After a string of conferences with his parents, Touya's teachers gave him up as a lost cause.

"Well, no wonder he's so difficult," he heard one of his pre-school teachers say to another. "His parents are incredibly over-indulgent! That father of his just smiles and says there's nothing wrong with his son – which is all that I'd expect from a man who would marry a sixteen-year-old!"

His teachers became impatient with him, and then began ignoring his "fits of temper" all together. So Touya gradually became used to helping himself. He learned to not be frightened when he saw someone who was dead. He learned to tell a lingerer from a ghost who really meant mischief or harm. He learned to speak to them, to deal with them, to help them find their way to heaven. And he learned to do all this without showing any recognition on his face when he saw one of them, so as to escape the notice of his incredibly mundane teachers.

"I'm very proud of you," a pregnant Nadeshiko said, the first time she witnessed her six-year-old son take a ghost by the hand and help it find its way home.

And that summer, Touya was given another reason to always keep his face calm. Even when she was an infant and a toddler, it was obvious to both Touya and Nadeshiko that Sakura didn't have the Sight – but that didn't stop her from sensing the spirits, and the presence of a ghost coupled with a look of shock or fear on her beloved big brother's face was enough to send her crying fit to wake the whole town.

On Nadeshiko's death, Touya found his last, excellent reason to always keep a stoic demeanor. Just after his mother's eyes closed for the final time, he heard her spirit whisper to him from far away, _keep Sakura safe, Touya – always_. By the age of ten, Touya was very much aware that the vast majority of the population thought that seeing ghosts was a sign of mental instability. He mentioned seeing his mother's spirit exactly once, to the nurses at the hospital. The hushed conversation that ensued between the harried nurse and the child psychologist had contained enough of the ominous words _grief-touched, a danger to his sister, _and _should be hospitalized_ to silence Touya on the subject of his Second Sight forever.

Or so he thought. His mother had once told him, _Power calls to power_, and over the course of the next four years he stumbled upon more than one person who shared, or at least understood, his abilities. The Space-Time Witch found him more than once, especially if she was dealing with a particularly difficult child-ghost. As the years passed, Touya began to suspect that she sought him out because he never charged for his services – and to discreetly check on Sakura.

"I promised someone once that I'd never interfere with the girl unless she came to find _me_," she explained, one fine spring day, after buying Touya a snow-cone in exchange for his help in getting a lost engagement ring back from a magpie-spirit. "But I'm involved, a little. It's nice to know that she's doing well – and that she has such a good big brother looking after her," she added, pinching his cheek because she knew he was too old for it. Yuuko was also the first person to warn Touya that he wouldn't have his powers forever.

"In my line of work, we never give advice," she had told him, just a few days before Touya would first meet Kaho at the Tsukimine Shrine. The visit had an air of finality to it, and Touya knew he would never see the Witch again. "But we also know that _everything is worth giving up, if we are offered the right price_." Her eyes cut deep into Touya's own, and he understood that he was being fore-warned. "Everyone has a choice of what to give up," she continued, holding his gaze without blinking. "But I would be very much surprised if you kept your Second Sight for very much longer. Use it well." It wasn't until much later that Touya realized that her uncharacteristic advice had been by way of payment for his years of service. _Debts are dangerous_, Nadeshiko had warned him once.

For the most part, however, his teachers and classmates simply got used to his stoic demeanor. To Touya's surprise, his good looks, athletic ability, and academic talent came together to ensure that he was never without friends, even if he held them all at arm's-length. His first year of high school he was even nominated and elected Academic Representative of his class. Only a few – girls, mostly – had anything bad to say about him, and usually that only when they felt like he had slighted their professions of love.

"Well, of course people like you," Sakura the third grader had told him, all wide-eyed innocence and loving smiles. "People can hear the kindness in you, singing all the time, even when you're being quiet."

Touya only really opened himself up to just one person outside of his family – until Tsukishiro arrived, that is. His relationship with Kaho, once she was gone, left him winded, hurt, and gasping for air, unwilling to ever open his heart to anyone again.

Then, hardly a month later, Touya's home-room teacher began class by announcing the arrival of a new transfer student: Tsukishiro Yukito.

***

The first few moments after Tsukishiro entered the room, as he bowed to the class and introduced himself, Touya found himself glad for every ounce of restraint he had in his body. The new boy's aura was strong enough to blot out half the room – as silver as Kaho's, he thought with a lurch, with a texture so familiar he couldn't even identify it. As if that weren't enough, super-imposed underneath the bright, fake, nervous smile the boy was compulsively showing the room was another set of lips – another face, another _entity_, only half-visible to Touya when he squinted his Second Sight to see more clearly. This other… _thing_… was calm, quiet, immobile – _asleep_, Touya realized, noting the impossibly long, white lashes tickling the creature's cheek as its closed eyelids fluttered, as if from a dream. It was beautiful, with long silver hair flooding down its back all the way to the floor, bound at the bottom only so that Tsukishiro wouldn't trip over it, Touya supposed. Huge, luminous white wings were curled protectively not just around the being, but also around Tsukishiro. Its face was like porcelain, but not the kind of porcelain that would break easily – his was the face of a predator, used to seeing things shatter around him. Long arms, clothed in white, made an X across his chest, his slender, elegant fingers curled into white-knuckled fists. Touya looked again at his face, and saw the slightest of frowns around his forehead and the corners of his eyes. Whatever he was, he was in pain.

And Tsukishiro was oblivious to it all, as he stammered his name and his happiness to have the opportunity to get to know his new classmates. Touya heard more than one girl heave an infatuated sigh under the force of the brilliant smile that was being showered on them from the transfer student. Touya, though, more perceptive than the rest, saw through some of that manufactured cheerfulness to the anxiousness and loneliness that lay underneath. Tsukishiro may not know what was riding with him, Touya decided then and there, but he certainly knew that there was a permanent barrier between himself and his new classmates. Tsukishiro, too, was in pain - a little like Touya, himself.

Much to Touya's chagrin, the teacher chose to sit Tsukishiro in an open desk diagonally in front of Touya, instead of the free desk at the back of the room. While it undoubtedly was in Tsukishiro's best interests to be placed so close to the teacher and the board, having Tsukishiro in Touya's direct line of sight was certainly not in _his_ best interests. Touya heard only one word in three throughout English and almost missed his name being called to come to the board in Trigonometry, he was so distracted by the boy-angel. Worse yet, Touya had the distinct impression that, even with his back turned the new boy was very much aware that Touya was distracted, and was very much aware that he himself was the cause.

Touya had just told himself soothingly that at least Tsukishiro couldn't get any _more _distracting, when he felt a rush of wind engulf the classroom, and with a sinking feeling realized that the windows were closed and that the disembodied wind hadn't so much as rustled anyone's papers. With a displacement of spirit almost like a _pop_, Touya felt the rush of a beautiful, magenta aura brush against his, and tipped his face slightly to the right – trying to look like he was just shifting his weight after a long day of lessons – so that his mother could kiss him hello.

_Touya-chan! _She trilled happily, whirling around him a few times in a dizzying blur. _I've missed you! I didn't realize how much time had passed – look how you've grown! _

Touya desperately attempted to keep his face blank and his eyes staring straight ahead, fighting the temptation to follow the progress of his mother's flight around the room, or to open his arms and let her sweep him up in a hug. He hadn't seen her since Kaho had broken up with him, and the desire to be six years old again, safe in Nadeshiko's loving embrace, was almost over-powering.

_How are you, darling? Are you learning a lot in school? Have you made any new friends? Are you taking care of Sakura and Fujitaka?_ Nadeshiko shot off in quick succession, completely unperturbed that her son could no more answer her or acknowledge her presence than he could lift himself off the ground and fly. _I like this high school of yours better than that dreadful junior high, _she continued merrily, floating up towards the ceiling to examine the window treatments. _It's so much more _cheerful_ – what's this?_

Nadeshiko had caught sight of Tsukishiro. She circled him a few times, examining him from head to toe, and finally came to rest with her eyes mere inches away from Tsukishiro's own. Touya was treated to the extremely bizarre sight of his dead mother and the new boy-angel appearing to stare straight at each other, and shivered. Then Nadeshiko lifted her gaze, breaking the illusion, and Touya was relieved to see that Tsukishiro remained staring straight ahead, making no move to suggest he had just seen a ghost.

_He must not have the Sight, _Nadeshiko said, sounding disappointed. _But he's obviously magical – hey, Touya! He looks a little like that older boy you had such a crush on the summer before last! _She teased, almost making Touya choke on his own breath.

Touya tried to tell himself that no one could see or hear his mother. He tried to tell himself that crushes – even same-sex crushes – were completely normal and natural. He tried to tell himself that his mother was just pointing out a passing resemblance, rather than trying to suggest anything. No matter how much he tried, though, he couldn't stop the flaming blush that was spreading up his neck and across his cheeks, and he fervently hoped that no one would happen to look over and notice his discomfort.

Unfortunately for him – it was just one of those days – someone _did _notice, and that someone was none other than the Chemistry teacher, who decided that whatever was causing Touya to turn such an eye-catching shade of scarlet couldn't possibly have anything to do with Chemistry.

"Kinomoto," she said, a little sharply. "Please give the class your response to homework problem 4-A."

Startled, Touya spent an embarrassing ten seconds rifling through his work book to find the right page, the sympathetic smile the new boy shot him only making him flush darker. Luckily, Touya was good at chemistry, and luckier still he always did his homework. The teacher only made him respond and explain his answer to the one problem before turning her attention elsewhere, satisfied that her best student would keep his attention on the lesson for the rest of the hour.

With a sigh of relief, Touya turned back to check on his mother – and very nearly groaned aloud. While Touya had been preoccupied, Nadeshiko had turned her attention from the boy to the angel. His beautiful silver hair was already in knots from Nadeshiko's misguided ministrations, and to his horror, Nadeshiko now had both hands around one huge, feathered wing and was pulling it out, away from the angel's back, in order to get a better look at it.

_I like this, _she said happily, meeting Touya's eyes. _His wings are just like mine! _She continued to tug at the wing until she had it fully extended. From base to tip, it was almost six feet long, which meant that it was currently extended _through_ two of Touya's classmates - neither of whom seemed to notice the presence of magical feathers tickling their innards.

Nadeshiko gave one last great heave on the wing, and then let it go with a giggle. Touya's mouth dropped open in unabashed horror as, with a _thwack_ that Touya could feel from three feet away, the feathery mass crashed into the back of the sleeping form. The angel frowned and turned in his sleep – a gesture that was perfectly mirrored by Tsukishiro – and then seemed to relax back into his dreams. Touya let out a breath of air that he hadn't known he had been holding. The mirrored actions of the boy and the angel had proved to him that they really were one being with two faces. He had been fretting all day about what he would do if the new boy turned out to be possessed.

_He seems nice, _Nadeshiko said decisively, coming to hover just over her son's desk. _A little sad and a little scared, but definitely nice. I want you to try to be his friend, okay?_

Touya found himself nodding in spite of himself.

_That's my boy,_ Nadeshiko smiled. She placed a reassuringly warm hand on his cheek. _I'll come see you again sometime soon. We didn't really get a chance to talk this time, did we?_

And with another small pop, she was gone. Touya raked a hand through his hair. He had known since childhood that death tended to accentuate a person's eccentricities, but nothing had ever brought it home to him as clearly as that.

***

Their free period came at the very end of the day that day. Touya was using it as an opportunity to catch up on the Trig lesson that he had missed and to try to smooth his ruffled feathers. Halfway through his homework set, he was interrupted by the homeroom teacher calling him to the front of the room. Tekuuchi-sensei was standing by the door, deep in conversation with Tsukishiro, and Touya couldn't help but feel his heart race just a little as he walked over towards them.

"Kinomoto," Tekuuchi-sensei greeted him. "Tsukishiro tells me that his old school was a little behind where we are now in some subjects. As Academic Representative, I want you to help Tsukishiro get caught up."

Touya nodded his understanding. If he hadn't been so distracted all day, he probably would have thought of that and offered to help the boy himself.

"Thanks," Tsukishiro said shyly, giving him a little smile that Touya was pleased to see was _almost_ sincere. "Um… I have some time after school today… can we go to the library after your club practice?"

Touya ran his hand through his hair, considering. "I don't have club practice today, actually," he mused, "but I do have to be home right away – my dad is out of town, and I have to baby-sit my little sister."

"Oh! I'm sorry," Tsukishiro stammered. "I shouldn't have assumed that you'd be able to help me today – yes, anytime this week is fine – anytime that you're free, that is -" Touya's heart went out to the anxious, well-meaning boy, and with his mother's words _I want you to try to be his friend, okay?_ still ringing in his ears, he found himself offering,

"You can come home after school with me, as long as you don't mind my little sister hanging around."

Tsukishiro stopped speaking almost mid-sentence, and his mouth popped open in surprise. Then he grinned, real happiness and gratitude radiating off of him like heat. "If that's all right with you, that would be great!"

Touya was a little surprised at himself. Sakura had friends over routinely, but Touya had not yet opened his home to anyone outside of his family – not even to Kaho. The fact that he had invited Tsukishiro over after having known him for less than a day was almost unthinkable.

Nevertheless, Touya found himself enjoying their walk home. Tsukishiro, once he got over his stammering embarrassment, was quick, compassionate, and set people at ease. By the time they were half-way home, he had gotten Touya to laugh twice, and had even weaseled a few passable attempts at conversation out of the other boy.

"Hey," Tsukishiro said suddenly, interrupting himself mid-sentence as if he had just now remembered something of vital importance. "Can I ask you something?"

"…I guess," Touya replied.

"Why were you so distracted in class today? You don't strike me as the kind of guy who usually zones out during school."

"I saw my mother's ghost," Touya answered flatly. Touya regretted saying it almost immediately, as Tsukishiro stopped dead in surprise. Touya didn't even know why he had decided to be truthful – just, the outline of those silver-white wings that even now surrounded the other boy reminded him so much of his mother, and he had never yet told his mother a lie.

"What did she say?" Tsukishiro asked after a long moment, the expression in his tawny eyes unreadable.

"She said…" Touya heaved a sigh. If he had already told the boy the truth once, he wasn't going to think him any crazier for telling the truth again. "She told me that you seemed nice, and that I should try to be your friend." Touya half-held his breath and turned away, waiting for the other boy's reaction to _that_ little declaration. What would it be? Touya wondered. A sympathetic smile, with a recommendation that he needed to get more sleep? A left jab straight to the eye? A nervous laugh, accompanied by a sudden just-remembered appointment?

After another ten seconds of awkward silence, Touya returned his eyes to the smaller boy, hoping it would jerk him out of his stunned surprise.

But it ended up being Touya who was shocked, as Tsukishiro met his gaze unblinkingly, his eyes alight from a dazzling, delighted smile - his second sincere one of the day.

"Then I'm very honored," Tsukishiro said, beginning to walk again. "I hope I live up to your mother's first impression." They continued the walk in silence, but it was no longer awkward. With his house in sight, Touya spoke.

"Hey, Tsukishiro… it's my sister's turn to cook dinner tonight, and she always cooks enough for ten, so if you want to stay for dinner…"

Tsukishiro's smile got, if possible, even wider. "I'd love to," he said happily. "But I hope you're telling the truth when you say she cooks for ten – I'm always surprising people with how much I eat."

***

"Monster, I'm home!" Touya yelled as he pushed the front door wide, Tsukishiro trailing inside after him.

"I'm not a monster!" Tsukishiro heard a high-pitched, youthful voice shout. There was much stomping from down the hall, and a moment later a tiny, adorable, pink-ribboned third-grader with eyes as green as her brother's were blue burst into the entry way. "And Dad said you weren't allowed to tease me while he was away, or else you would be on clean-up duty for a _week_ – oh…" Sakura had finally caught sight of Yukito. Her mouth hung open just a bit, and her bright eyes went wide. Her right fist, clenched in anger against her brother's teasing, slowly uncurled itself, and she brought both hands up to press against her suddenly over-heated cheeks. "Um…" she continued, embarrassed.

Tsukishiro, on his part, took one look at the adorable, blushing bundle, and found himself instantly smitten. He had no siblings or cousins, and had always wanted a little sister to spoil. Kneeling down so that their eyes were nearly level, he gave the girl an overly elaborate bow of introduction. She blushed deeper, returned the bow with a little curtsy of her own, and glued her eyes to the floor.

"Hello," Tsukishiro twinkled down at her. "Kinomoto-kun told me he had a little sister who would be treating me with dinner, but he didn't tell me how pretty she was." Since the little girl still refused to meet his eyes, he forced the fingers of his right hand under her chin and tipped her face up until they were looking directly at each other, their faces mere inches apart. "Will you tell me your name?" Tsukishiro murmured, smiling radiantly and softly, using his unoccupied left hand to tug the hem of the little girl's skirt out of her own grip, where she had been twisting it nervously.

"Uh – um… y-you can call me Sakura," she stammered, subconsciously reaching out and clasping the boy's hand in her own. Yukito glanced at Touya when he heard the name, his smile a little mischievous as he got the joke of their names. Touya didn't seem amused.

"Sakura, huh?" he asked. "Then you can call me Yukito."

"Hey, monster," Touya interrupted, before Sakura actually sprouted wings with her joy. "Give Tsukishiro his hand back now – he needs that. Tsukishiro, you'd better wash your hands – you never know what monsters do in their free time." Sakura flushed angrily, and let Yukito's hand drop as if it had burned her.

"I am _not_ a monster!" she only half-shouted – it was a pretty good impression of dignity, actually, Yukito thought – before flouncing away, back to the kitchen.

"I wasn't joking about washing your hands, Tsukishiro," Touya called too-loudly after her. Yukito heard a loud "Hmph!" from down the hall, and clasped a hand over his mouth to stifle his giggle. "Here," Touya continued at a normal volume. "I'll take your coat. The dining room is right through there – we can work there until dinner." [1]

"Your sister is adorable," Yukito remarked when Touya came to join him in the dining room. Yukito already had his schoolwork laid out, a graphing spiral directly in front of him. Touya paused a moment, with his hand on the chair directly across from Yukito, and then lowered himself down carefully.

"Funny," he said quietly. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be the type to get off on third graders." Touya's voice was dark, velvety, and dangerous. Tsukishiro stopped what he was doing, slowly put down his pencil and looked up to meet Touya's eyes. Glittering predatorily from behind his mane of jet-black hair, Touya reminded him of nothing so much as a panther. Tsukishiro fought the urge to shiver.

Then, for the second time that day, Tsukishiro Yukito caught Touya completely off guard. A slow, secret smile spread across Tsukishiro's features. He raised one eyebrow, and then bent back down over his Trig homework as if he hadn't caught the implied threat in the other boy's voice. "Oh, my," he said, a small bubble of laughter working itself out of his throat along with his words. "Then I'd best be careful not to lead the poor dear on – her big brother's over-reaction might kill me if I made her cry. Don't you think, Kinomoto-kun?" Tsukishiro asked, as if he were talking about a stranger or remarking on the weather.

Touya blinked and tensed up, wondering if the other boy was issuing his own kind of threat. Then he caught Tsukishiro's conspiratorial wink, and relaxed. This was just… banter, he realized. Having lived with his mother for as long as he had, Touya could handle teasing.

"Quite," Touya agreed, deciding then and there that Tsukishiro's not-quite-platonic reaction to his little sister was just a by-product of the other boy's affectionate nature and didn't actually carry any of the sexual connotations that Touya's suspicious eyes had seen. His succinct declaration startling a laugh out of his classmate. "Hey," he continued suddenly. "You can call me Touya, okay?"

"All right, Touya-kun," Tsukishiro agreed.

"No," Touya shook his head. "Not 'Touya-kun' – just Touya."

It was lucky that Sakura burst in on them just then, saving Yukito from having to answer – he wasn't sure he would have been able to, past the sudden lump in his throat.

"Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes!" she said proudly. "Touya! Set the table! And I need help with my math homework after _you_ do the dishes!"

"Yeah, yeah, little monster," he muttered under his breath as she bounced back into the kitchen. Yukito didn't bother trying to stifle his giggle any more.

"I can tell she likes bossing you around," Yukito remarked. Touya snorted. "I'll help you do the dishes," Yukito said. It was more a statement than an offer. "It's the least I can do."

"If you'd like," Touya replied. "What subject was it that you needed help with? You definitely understand the Trig better than me."

"Chem, actually," Yukito admitted. "At my old school we did Physics as second years and Chem as third years, so I'm miles behind – I didn't understand _anything_ that we did today in class."

The evening, to Touya, seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Yukito was a bit of a genius, he quickly learned, and gobbled up information as if it were a fine delicacy. That being said, he worked too quickly to be truly accurate, and more than once Touya had to rein him back to correct a mistake – they made a good team.

Dinner was fun, too, Touya was surprised to note. He had been worried that Sakura's obvious crush would put a damper on things, but Yukito soon put her at ease, and the siblings were back to their easy squabbling in no time. Watching Yukito pretend to be fascinated by the trials and triumphs of an average third-grade school day, Touya couldn't help the warm, sentimental smile that began to spread across his features – and then quickly wiped his face clean when Yukito turned to give him a wink.

Just as Touya and Yukito were finishing clearing the dinner plates, the front door burst open.

"I'm home!" a deep, male voice called.

"Daddy! You're home early!" Yukito heard Sakura shriek. Touya smiled and hung his apron on the peg by the window, and reached out and plucked Yukito's from around his neck.

"Come and meet my father," Touya offered.

"Why are you still in you school uniform?" Fujitaka asked, surprised, as Touya turned the corner into the entry-way.

"Because Touya brought a friend over to play!" Sakura chirped. Yukito turned into the steadily shrinking entry-way and bit back a true laugh – Sakura was standing on her father's feet, her arms wrapped around his legs like a vise.

"_Really?_" Fujitaka asked, startled. Catching sight of Yukito, he seemed to remember his manners. "I mean – ahem. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Touya's dad. Please call me Fujitaka."

"Tsukishiro Yukito," Yukito bowed, turning on one of his dazzlingly sunny smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Care to join us for dessert?" Fujitaka offered, holding up a white plastic bag that he had managed, with the ease of long practice, to keep safe from Sakura's attack. "I stopped by the bakery on my way home – I got strawberry cake."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, and whirled into the kitchen to grab the dessert plates.

"Touya, Yukito, please sit down," Fujitaka smiled, waving them into the family room. "I'll help Sakura," Fujitaka assured his son, who seemed to be about to protest. Yukito put a friendly hand on Touya's arm, and that decided it. He went with Yukito without a fuss.

Fujitaka and Yukito were evenly matched, Touya realized as the four of them ate their cake. Both were calm, cheerful, polite people, and by the time their second helpings had been devoured, Touya could tell that Fujitaka had claimed Yukito as an extension of the family.

"You'll have to come again sometime soon," Fujitaka said firmly to Yukito as Sakura raced to clear the plates as quickly as possible. "It was wonderful having you over."

Taking his cue, Yukito stood. "Thank you very much for having me," he said formally. "I hope I will see you in the near future. I should probably get going though," this he said to Touya. "I live with my grandparents, and I should definitely get home before they turn out the lights, or else they'll worry."

Touya stood and walked Yukito to the entry-way, feeling, for some reason, a little forlorn now that he would be leaving.

"Yuki," Touya called suddenly when the other boy was already half-way out the door. Fujitaka, watching from the other room, raised his eyebrows at the familiar nick-name. "Want me to walk you part of the way home?"

Yuki stopped and turned back, genuinely surprised. A slow smile, one that Touya hadn't yet seen, one of excitement, anticipation, and patience played across the boy's lips.

"I'll be fine, Touya," he scolded softly. Touya found his own mouth curving up in a mirror image of Yukito's. "But I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll meet you at the corner."

Touya nodded, Yuki waved and called his last good-byes to Sakura, then stepped through the door and shut it after him. Fujitaka came to join Touya, still standing in the entry-way and staring at the door, looking a little lost.

"How long have you known Yukito-kun?" Fujitaka asked him curiously.

"I just met him today," Touya replied absently. "He's a transfer student."

Fujitaka blinked. "_What?_"

***

***

Author's Notes:

Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, and a SPECIAL thanks to everyone who put this story on their story alert! I reloaded the first chapter, marking with a [1] the part that I edited. I decided that as it was originally, there was not enough reason for Touya to jump on Yuki, so I made Yuki seem a little bit more like a creeper. That part is still bothering me, so if you have any additional suggestions, let me know! I'll see what I can do!

Any other comments? Send me a REVIEW!


	2. A Series of Snapshots

UGH, INDECISION!!! I couldn't decide whether I should post this as a stand-alone one-shot or as the second chapter to this story. I eventually decided that, since so many of you put this story on your story alerts, I'd better make it chapter two of a Series of Smiles. I feel sort of bad, because the "friendship" part of Yuki and Touya's relationship is moving quickly away from friendship. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Enjoy!

***

***

Monday was Yuki's first day, the day that he first went over to Touya's house for dinner, the first day that he met the Kinomoto family.

***

Tuesday, Yukito returned the favor.

"It will just be the two of us for dinner, though," Yuki smiled. They were sitting under a big, old tree at the corner of campus eating lunch. Touya had never eaten lunch outside before – he usually either took his lunch to the library if he wanted to get his homework done, or if he was feeling social he'd eat with the soccer team in the cafeteria.

It was nice, he decided, looking up through the scraggly branches at the spring buds that were just beginning to burst their fuzzy shells. Plus, sitting with his back against the tree he had a clear view of the park surrounding Sakura's elementary school. He wondered, idly, if the super-empathetic boy seated next to him had chosen the spot for exactly that reason.

"And I'll need to go to the store before I can cook," Yuki was musing, reaching into the grocery bag that he used to carry his lunch. "But you have soccer practice after school today, right?"

Touya didn't respond. A flicker out of the corner of his eye had distracted him – but it turned out to be mundane, just a few gawking girls from their class skulking around by the school, probably speculating on what Yuki and Touya were talking about.

Somehow, Yukito managed to glean something like an answer out of Touya's impassive face, because he replied, "Then I'll go to the store while you're at soccer, and meet you at the corner at six," with a note of finality in his voice as if they were concluding a long conversation.

Touya slid his eyes back over to his companion, but his attention staid on the school for a few moments longer. The two boys had caused quite a stir that morning – they had burst into the classroom together, just a few moments before the bell rang, both out of breath, Yukito laughing and Touya looking grim.

"Kinomoto-kun," Hajime-chan, a girl who had been in Touya's class since junior high, said in surprise. "You're never late!"

Yuki took the liberty of answering for him. "Touya's little sister was running late for school," he explained, smiling so widely that it almost looked painful. "And Touya wanted to make sure that she didn't fall off her roller blades trying to race the clock to school. But we got here all right after all," he said, turning to Touya, who was blushing a little from all the attention.

A collective sigh of admiration could be heard from nearly every girl in the room. Touya straightened his tie compulsively, embarrassed.

"Be quiet, Yuki," he muttered, putting his hands on Yukito's shoulders and propelling him into the room. "Class is about to start."

"Granted," Yukito continued once both boys were sitting down, leaning his left arm against the back of his chair and swinging his legs around so that he was facing Touya, "we wouldn't have been so late if you hadn't had to give me a lift on your bike." He spoke as if he was blind and deaf both to Touya's discomfort and to the presence of the other twenty-nine high schoolers in the room.

"Don't worry about it," Touya muttered gruffly, turning to stare out the window. He'd never before been so happy that his seat was next to the school's outer wall. "You don't have a bike, so it's not a big deal."

Luckily – for Touya at least – a harried-looking Tekuuchi-sensei clattered into the room just at that moment. The rest of the class, however, kept shooting the two boys interested glances for the rest of the morning, obviously curious as to how their New Boy and Ice King had become such fast friends literally overnight.

"Are your grand-parents not home?" Touya asked suddenly, pulling himself back to the present, and lunchtime, and the big old sakura tree.

"No, they left early this morning. They love to travel, but I rarely go with them. I have school after all, and even when I don't they feel safer knowing that the house isn't empty."

Touya blinked. Yuki had spoken cheerfully and matter-of-factly, but something about the way that the story landed on his ears had made his sixth sense murmur a warning to him. Another boy might have pressed Yukito, but Touya let it stand. If Yuki wanted him to think that his grand-parents were out of town, then as far as he was concerned, his grand-parents were out of town until further notice. They didn't mention Yukito's family again for the rest of the period.

Yukito was waiting for Touya at six o'clock sharp, just like he had said he would.

"I got the ingredients for tekoyaki and soup," he said, by way of greeting. "But I'm happy to make anything."

"Tekoyaki's fine," Touya said, and the boys fell comfortably into step.

"How was practice?" Yukito asked. Touya was in a particularly communicative mood, so his answer took them the full length of the block, and Yukito's next question took them even farther. They were more than half-way to Yuki's house before Touya realized that his companion was nervous, and was trying to keep Touya talking so as to avoid having to talk himself. Touya frowned, and allowed himself to sink, little by little, into his magic center. He didn't think either of them were in any danger, but the mystery of the whole situation was making him feel decidedly uneasy.

He was a little relieved when Yuki finally turned off the sidewalk and walked up the path of a nice-looking, spacious new house, no different from any of the other houses on the block. Touya scanned it with his Second Sight as he stood on the door-step, waiting for Yuki to find his key, but it came up clean.

"Please come in," Yuki said formally, holding the door open for Touya. "I'll take your jacket."

The house was only half-furnished, with no plants or decorations or even photographs on the walls. While really it was no bigger than Touya's own house, it seemed to cast large, looming shadows and Yuki's footsteps echoed oddly from down the hall.

"Sorry, we're not really done moving in yet," Yuki apologized nervously. "If you don't mind doing homework in the kitchen, that room's a little further along than the others."

Touya tore his eyes away from the brand-new tatami mat in the entry-way – when he looked into the past with his Second Sight, he could only find the shadows from one pair of shoes on it.

"That sounds good," he said, warming his voice with a smile to compensate for Yuki's jitters. "And I'll help you make dinner. It's the least I can do."

Yukito became increasingly comfortable and cheerful as the evening wore on – he even managed to find the will for some gentle-but-merciless teasing after dinner – but at no point did he seem as content as he had been during his time spent at the Kinomoto's house. Touya didn't mention it, not wanting to pry. He had the distinct feeling that Yuki would do his best to dodge any questions Touya threw at him, and the attempt would probably just frustrate them both.

It wasn't until Yuki was showing him to the door after they had finished homework, dinner, and dishes that it occurred to Touya that Yukito might not know himself what was causing his jitters. He mulled this over as he walked home, taking the long way around to give himself more time to think.

If that were the case, then Yukito also probably wouldn't be able to answer for his grandparents' strange behavior. And, Touya realized suddenly and belatedly, he might not even know that he was anything other than 100% mundane human. That thought surprised him so much that he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk for fully fifteen seconds, only starting to walk again when a biker whizzed by him in the darkness.

Then and there, Touya decided that he would wait for Yukito to figure out his magical identity – and to inform Touya of it – on his own. He promised himself that he would be there to help him discover it, and to help him with whatever psychological burdens the discovery entailed, but that he wouldn't interfere unless it became necessary. It was also at that moment that Touya decided that he would take every opportunity to keep Yukito out of that dark, lonely house of his; it had made even him feel dull, subdued, and little melancholy. He hated to think what too much time alone in there would do to the other boy's optimism and cheerfulness.

***

Wednesday dawned bright and clear. Yuki was waiting for Touya on the corner again. Even though Sakura had been – shockingly - on time, Touya was riding his bike. Yukito didn't ask permission to hop onto the bike pegs like he had the previous morning, but he did pause, his face looking a question, looking comically off-balance with his leg half-slung over the back wheel.

"Did something change?" he asked, frowning a little and turning to Touya in mild confusion. Touya smiled, this time without having to tell himself to.

"Yeah, we're on time," he retorted. "Hang onto the seat so you don't fall."

It wasn't until they got to school that Yukito recognized what it was that was different. Today, Touya rode his bike all the way up to the school doors, instead of getting off at the gates and walking the length of the schoolyard. He put up with Yuki's teasing and his classmates' curious glances with completely unabashed patience, and didn't blush when Yuki called him by his first name.

_He's protecting me_, Yukito realized, turning a little pink himself from the warmth of the thought.

"Thank you," Yukito said suddenly, in the middle of a comfortable lull in their conversation during lunch, under the sakura tree.

"For what?" Touya asked, half of his attention on the flower sprite that was dancing in the branches overhead, but the question was rhetorical and Yukito knew it.

Both boys went home alone after school that day. Touya had work just after his soccer practice ended, and Yukito claimed that he still had clothes that he needed to unpack.

Both boys felt strangely unfulfilled when they went to bed that night.

***

By Thursday, Touya's and Yukito's classmates seemed to have gotten used to their mysterious friendship. The ease with which it was accepted made Touya suspect that there was magic involved, but he didn't press any further than he had to. One thing he had learned from Yuuko was to not mess around with magic that was too strong for him to sense.

On their way to Touya's house after school that day, Yukito was surprised when Touya requested that they stop by Yuki's house first.

"You should probably take a few changes of clothes to my house," Touya explained. "Unless you want to just keep wearing your school uniform every time you eat dinner at my house." Yukito laughed.

"You're right, that's a good idea. You can just wait outside and I'll run grab my clothes."

"At least three changes of clothes," Touya yelled through the door after him. "And a set of pyjamas in case you want to sleep over."

From down the hall, Yukito blushed pink with pleasure.

***

By Sunday, the two boys had known each other forever. Touya couldn't imagine doing his homework alone anymore, and Yukito had adopted Sakura and Fujitaka as his own father and sister.

That afternoon the two boys had gone to the super-market with Sakura, basking in the relaxing companionship of having a true friend. Now, Touya was sitting at his desk chair with Yuki lounging nearby on his bed, both doing their best to avoid starting their homework until after dinner.

Yuki, scanning the room lazily, eventually settled his attention on a photograph that Touya kept on his dresser, half-hidden behind a stack of old textbooks. The picture was of a thirteen-year-old Touya offering Sakura an ice cream cone. It was a candid shot, obviously taken by Fujitaka, and Yukito thought that Touya's smiling eyes and vicious fake-snarl were a good summary of the siblings' relationship. He turned to Touya and remarked as much.

"Mm," Touya grunted distractedly. Yuki looked, expectantly, because Touya seemed to be steeling himself for something. "Hey," he finally muttered, with what was obviously an effort. "I'm… sorry. For jumping on you that first night. Now I know you better, I know it was stupid to think you might do something to Sakura."

"Oh, is that all," Yukito replied, giving his friend a lazy, reassuring smile before turning his attention back to the photograph. "Don't worry about that, I wasn't mad at all. Actually," he said suddenly, sitting up, a mischievous twinkle beginning deep in his eyes. Touya raised an eyebrow. He knew Yukito well enough by now to know that he only wore that particular expression when he was about to start some merciless self-teasing. "I was rather pleased. Most people take one look at me and just assume I'm a fairy."

Touya choked.

"I guess I look the part," Yukito continued conversationally. "I mean, I have glasses and my hair is fairly light, but I'm not _that _small. I look shorter next to you, of course, but seriously. It's nice having someone not jump to conclusions for once."

"_Are _you gay?" Touya asked. To anyone else it would have been an inappropriate question, but Touya got the impression that Yuki wouldn't really mind. The other boy didn't disappoint.

"Of _course_ I'm gay," Yukito laughed. "I'm wearing a pink sweater!"

"Lots of guys wear pink," Touya countered easily. "You look good in pink."

"Well, thank you – you don't mind, do you?" Yukito asked, realizing suddenly that most high school boys would be distinctly uncomfortable to learn that their new best friend -who was currently sitting on their bed, no less! - was a pouf. Touya smiled easily, and Yuki relaxed.

"No, I don't mind."

"Are _you_?" Yukito asked curiously, but immediately checked himself. "Oh – oh, god, you don't have to answer that, of course – what was I thinking," Yukito was blushing furiously now, plucking at the pleat in his kakis out of embarrassment. Touya's smile got imperceptibly warmer.

"I'm… not straight," he said finally, after a little deliberation. Since meeting Yukito, the pain of thinking of Kaho had more than halved, but he still didn't want to bring her up in casual conversation. Especially not with Yuki.

"Oh," Yuki said, shrugging off his discomfort with what could only be called talent. "What's your dad making for dinner?"

Not for the first time, Touya realized that the boy sitting in front of him truly was a marvel. He didn't know anyone else who could speak of something as personal as his sexuality with so much honesty and so little fuss.

He opened his mouth, about to say so, but then closed it again. Something told him that there would be plenty of time for that later – and that for right now, there were more important things to attend to.

***

When Sakura fist opened the Book of Clow, Touya saw two utterly shocking things happen at once. The first was an explosion, the force of which could have rivaled the eruption of any volcano, coming from the direction of his house.

It was a Saturday, and Yukito was sleeping over. Touya's excuse was that his dad was on a dig and Sakura was always better behaved with Yukito in the house, but really he wanted to make sure Yukito had company over the weekend. The two boys had just finished going shopping for dinner when the impact hit, and it took all the self-control that Touya had in him to not drop the groceries and take off running for home as fast he could.

Once he had gotten over the worst of his panic, he got around to reading the auras that had been left like after-images in the air above his house. The first aura, and by far the clearest, was one that Touya was sure that he had never seen before, but was somehow infinitely familiar and bizarrely soothing. It looked a little like his father's soul, but was ancient and steeped in a magical power so old and powerful that it made Touya's skin crawl.

The second aura belonged to his little sister, and Touya had to bite his lip to keep from swearing or crying out. No matter how gentle the primary aura felt, Sakura had almost definitely gotten herself into something that was too big for her -- and was very, very dangerous.

But the third aura in the air almost made him forget about the previous two. The third aura was Yukito's.

And that was when Touya noticed the other utterly shocking thing. The entity that slept behind Yukito's kind smile had moved. He hadn't woken – Touya checked to make sure that his eyes were still closed and fluttering from a host of what Touya hoped were good dreams – but he had shifted in his sleep. Then, with a sigh that Touya felt rather than heard, the creature opened his wings from their protective position cocooning the sleeping creature and the smiling boy, stretched them to their full, awesome wingspan – and then folded them neatly against his back.

Touya knew that his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn't quite work up the presence of mind to close it. Luckily, Yukito had subconsciously noticed the explosion and the small wakefulness of his passenger, so was distracted himself. Strangely, Touya's first reaction to this new development in his best friend was to reach out his hand and press his palm to Yuki's cheek.

He had never really, deliberately touched the other boy before – at least not as a sign of affection. It wasn't that he had purposely avoided it or that he was an undemonstrative friend - but the ghostly outline of the wings that had encased the other boy had felt to Touya like a barrier that should only be broached as often as was truly necessary. The few times that they had made physical contact, to steady each other when one lost his balance or to give an unspoken command, Touya had felt a small magical jolt of violation when his hands had passed through immaterial feathers to the clothes and skin underneath.

Now that his friend was open to the world, Touya wanted to take advantage of it.

The feeling of Touya's hand against his cheek seemed to bring Yukito back to reality. In true Yuki fashion, rather than jerking away or demanding clarification for the not-quite-platonic action, he simply tilted his head into Touya's hand and gave the other boy one of his slow, patient smiles.

When Touya finally dropped his hand, they continued on as if nothing had happened, but Touya got the distinct feeling that they both knew that everything had changed.

***

***

One more chapter to this! Being realistic, I probably won't have it up until mid-May. My bad. There will also be, eventually, a sequel to this series. Much love to you all, and don't forget to drop me a comment or two!

And a great big shout out to my beautiful and talented older sister for beta-ing my work!


	3. A Series of Splinters

**A great many thanks to everyone who added this story to their story alert or favorite story alerts, and a GREAT many thanks to everyone who added me to their favorite author's list. As my profile says, I'm currently a busy college student, and can't often find the time to write fanfiction. Now that I'm on summer break, though, I hope to have more for you.**

**In this chapter, Touya's and Yukito's relationship becomes blatant. If that offends you, then I apologize, but I urge you to reconsider (especially since they're a canon pairing).**

**This story follows the MANGA-VERSE. That means that this scene takes place just at the beginning of Vol. 12, or during the scene where everyone ends up at Eriol's house after Sakura splits Eriol's power between him and her father (I know, we leapt ahead in time quite a bit)**.

Touya woke up in a strange bed in a strange house. His first instinct was to send out a wave of power to identify his surroundings and to see if he was alone. He tried to sink into his magic center – but hit a horrifying, blank white wall. Touya felt himself submerge in panic. There was a strange rushing in his ears, a weight on his chest, he felt blind and naked and useless, and every time he tried to center himself, he felt his world shake and spin all the harder –

"I'm sorry," a soft, familiar voice murmured out of the darkness. Touya felt a hand on his forehead, and the world righted itself with a lurch. The past weeks came back to him in a dizzying rush (_that's right, Yuki had been fading away, smiling politely and assuring everyone that he was fine as he died, slowly and painfully! And so Touya had given him his magic to keep him alive, had made him promise to take care of himself…_) – no wonder he hadn't been able to sink into his magic center.After two calming, steadying breaths, Touya was himself enough to realize that his eyes had adjusted to the dark – and that there was enough moonlight streaming through the far window that it illuminated the room.

Touya turned to look at where the voice and the hand had come from, and gasped a little, involuntarily, from surprise.

"You're that classmate of Sakura's," he muttered, sitting up a little straighter in the big bed. The voice had sounded older. The child nodded.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol, at your service." The boy bowed. Touya frowned, a memory tugging at the corner of his mind.

"You also go by Clow Reed, don't you," Touya said. It wasn't a question. It was the boy's turn to look surprised.

"Indeed, I do. Or I did once. Tell me, how do you come to know my name from a previous life?"

Touya shrugged. "Just something that someone I know said once," he muttered uncomfortably, turning to look out the window and noticing vaguely that his father was asleep in the far bed. He didn't need second sight to feel the boy's face settle into a true smile.

"I am glad, Touya-kun, that you and Kaho are getting along again," Eriol said, not trying to keep the laughter from his voice. "And I apologize for waking you so abruptly. I assure you, the disorientation is normal. I lifted a sleep spell from you prematurely. I have a favor to ask of you."

Touya swung his head around to look the strange boy-man full in the face, and shivered. He could read nothing in the boy's eyes or expression, and for the second time since waking, he desperately missed his second sight.

Eriol laughed again, but this time there was an edge of sadness and bitterness to it. "Please, don't look so suspicious," he said. "Even if I deserve it. I wanted to ask if you'd go down to Yue – Yukito," he corrected himself, with an impatience that showed he'd done the same thing many times before. "I think he needs you."

Without giving Touya a chance to respond, Eriol turned on his heel and strode to the door. He paused once, briefly, at the threshold, the light that was streaming in from the hall turning him into a murky silhouette.

"I'm sorry," he said, so softly that Touya couldn't be sure that he had spoken at all. "For Kaho. And for your Sight. Neither had been my intention." Then, more quietly still, Touya heard him whisper, "But that's what I get for playing with hitsuzen."

Touya opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't decide how much of what he had heard had been meant for him. Anyway, a moment later the boy was gone, the door closing behind him without so much as a whisper or a click.

It was several moments before Touya could convince his body to stand up. Whatever antidote Eriol had tried to give him for his dizziness, it wasn't nearly as strong as the sleep spell had been, and even now he could feel the remnants of the enchantment tugging at his limbs, making them heavy, and weighing his eyelids down. He was at least relieved to find that he was still fully clothed, once he managed to heave himself to his feet. He staggered to the window, hoping that the view would help him to get his bearings. As soon as he stepped in front of the glass, he felt his headache recede and the pressure on his body lessen, as if the moonlight were washing away the last traces of the drugged sleep. Touya sighed gratefully and spared a moment on his father. He was happy to see that Fujitaka was sleeping peacefully, his glasses resting on a nearby nightstand, his left hand curled around something invisible to the naked eye. Touya's eyebrows rose at that, and, taking an educated guess, he whispered,

"Hey there, 'kaa-san," to the sleeping room, before turning once again to the window. Taking another educated guess, Touya let his eyes follow the trail of moonlight down the wall from this upper-story window to the manicured lawn and gnarled trees below. Sure enough, kneeling under one of the trees, body half-in and half-out of the moonlight, was Yue.

After Eriol's warning, Touya was hardly surprised to see that Yue's arms and wings were engulfing his body in a protective embrace the likes of which Touya hadn't seen since Sakura first opened the Book of Clow. The angel was facing away from the house, but Touya didn't need to see his face to know that his teeth were gritted, eyes clamped shut, face contorted against what could only be unspeakable pain. Touya watched the figure shudder and gasp in the pale moonlight, his own jaw clamped tight against the pain of seeing his love in such a state, before he steeled his resolve and turned to find a way downstairs.

Touya was unhappily not-at-all-surprised that the hall, which had been bright a moment before for Eriol's exit, was now darker than the room he had woken up in. Here again, the only light was moonlight, streaming in cold, glittering ribbons through a small window set into the far wall. Touya shut the door to the bedroom carefully behind him – for him, the hinges croaked like an old bird, and the latch caught with an audible click. All of the doors running up and down the long hallway were dark and closed, and there was no hint of light creeping up the far staircase. In fact, after listening carefully to the perfect silence for a few moments, Touya decided that he must be the only person awake in the whole house. Acutely aware that he was surrounded by some deep enchantment that he could no longer sense, Touya tried to sneak as softly as possible down the stairs so as not to disturb whatever was lurking in the shadows.

On reaching the first floor landing, Touya's first thought was to try and find the front door, but a flicker of white caught the corner of his eye. He sighed in exasperation when he found that what had caught his attention was the white curtain on a set of open French doors that had been closed a moment earlier. Not bothering to look for his shoes, Touya padded barefoot out onto the soft grass. Out here, the moonlight was almost as strong as sunlight, but it cast a strange, ethereal glow that turned the entire world into a series of glittering grays and silvers. The only color at all to be seen out here was the opalescent reflection of the moonlight shimmering a rainbow in Yue's long hair.

Touya got as close as he dared to the angel before announcing himself, clearing his throat to get the creature's attention. The sound was unnaturally loud against the silence, as loud as a pebble being crushed beneath a boulder, or the splintering of a large, delicate pane of glass. Hearing the noise, Yue whipped around, lowering his wings just enough to be able to see above the feathery mass.

But that meant that Touya could also see Yue's face, and what he saw there paralyzed him momentarily.

Yue was weeping. Sobbing, actually, Touya realized, as another shudder caused the angel's face to contort in pain - but silently. Touya inhaled slowly, whistling the air through his teeth. He had never seen Yuki cry before, he realized now, although there had been plenty of occasions where it would have been no shame for the boy to have shed a tear. Touya had gotten used to thinking of Yukito as being a pillar of cheerfulness, strength, and flexibility – even though his smile was sometimes forced, and even though there was sometimes a glimmer of pain hiding behind his eyes. Seeing Yuki's "true" form - his "strong" form - wailing silently into the moonlight suddenly made Touya doubt himself, doubt his memories, doubt if he really knew his friend _(his love_, a voice whispered to him out of his shock) at all.

"Why are you here?" Yue asked in a choked, hoarse whisper, effectively breaking Touya out of his reverie. "You shouldn't have been able to break the sleep I put on you."

"…Eriol broke me out of it," Touya answered carefully. As he had suspected, hearing the name caused Yue's face to contort in a snarl of misery which he quickly hid behind wings and hands.

"I would like to be alone," the creature managed to grind out a short time later, voice muffled behind sleeves and downy softness. Touya sighed. He considered a moment, then blatantly ignoring the creature's wishes, dropped to a sitting position on the grass just farther than an arm's reach away from his angel.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to make his voice as sweet as he could.

"Nothing!" Yue snarled, refusing to face the boy behind him. Touya waited until the angel's breath was mostly even before he replied,

"It doesn't sound like nothing." At that, Yue moved so quickly that Touya's eyes couldn't follow him. A moment later, Yue was on his feet, facing Touya, wings raised to their full, awesome wing-span. The angel bore down over the boy, the rage in his face and in his voice making Touya's heart race.

"So this is his last, final revenge," Yue spat. Each word was as cold and sharp as a splinter of ice. "First he leaves us with fake memories, denying us even the pleasure of nursing him at the end, handing us a series of shadows and reflections to _ease_ our _suffering_," the bite on the last words was glacial. Touya gulped. He didn't like hearing Yuki's voice twisted around so much hatred. "Then he tricks me – forces me – _ensorcels me_ into choosing a new master, tries to bind me to her with an unnatural, bewitched love that would have broken us both if I hadn't dismantled the spell. Then – _then_ – he leads us to find his reincarnation and expects us to be _happy_, to be _contented_ that our reason for being has created new, better versions of _us_. And now, when all I want is to be alone, to sleep peacefully for a thousand years, he breaks my most powerful spell and sends you – _you_ to me, of all people! Haven't I suffered enough?"

If another sob hadn't ripped itself out of Yue's throat at just that instant, he might have continued his diatribe on into the night. In the meantime, Touya used the opportunity to get to his feet – slowly, so as not to startle the creature – and to take two careful steps forward so that he would be within the circle of Yue's wings if he tried to shut him out again.

"Get AWAY from me!" Yue roared, lashing out one long arm to try to re-establish the distance between them. Touya took a step back to avoid the blow, but also managed to catch the white, slender wrist in one of his hands. Yue struggled for a moment, trying to break free, but weakened as he was from crying, he was no match for Touya. He gave a sudden, violent jerk, and for one dizzying instant Touya thought that he was going to take off into the sky, dragging Touya with him - but instead he found himself blinded by a brilliant flash of yellow light, and a moment later Yukito crumpled to the ground in front of him.

At first, Touya thought that Yukito was unconscious, as he had not moved from where he fell, curled up on the grass with his back facing Touya. Then Touya recognized the now-familiar rhythm of shudders running up and down Yukito's spine, and realized that he, too, was sobbing.

Touya knelt down, the grass rustling as he did so, noticing vaguely that the unnatural silence had departed when Yue did. The night was suddenly filled with the sighing and brushing of the wind, the dull murmur of crickets and other night-crawlers, and the dim roar from distant city streets, busy even at this hour of the morning. Above it all, Yukito's sobs were suddenly audible, and Touya's heart tied a knot in his chest to hear the well-loved voice contorted in agony. He reached out his arm, thinking to place a comforting hand on the other boy's shoulder, but Yuki stopped him.

"Please don't," he spat, through what sounded like gritted teeth. Touya froze, his arm still half-outstretched. "Please," Yukito continued. "I don't – I never want you to see me cry. Please. I'm trying to stop."

Touya sat back on his heels. He was torn between two powerful, conflicting urges: to comfort his best friend (_his love…_ that voice reminded him), and to respect his wishes. After waiting for what felt like hours, but was really probably only several minutes, his protective instinct became overpowering.

"Don't worry," Touya said as gently as he knew how. "I promise I won't look," as he leant forward, careful to give Yukito enough time to protest, and scooped the boy up in his arms.

After his encounter with Yue, Touya was almost expecting Yukito to struggle or scream, but instead the boy sat limply in Touya's embrace, body shaking with tears, keeping his face turned as far away as he could. Yukito felt almost insubstantial in Touya's arms, and for a moment Touya was afraid that Yukito was starting to fade away again, dying quietly and politely, trying not to raise a fuss, trying not to leave behind any unpleasant messes for someone else to clean up. His hold tightened on the boy involuntarily, and Touya was gratified when Yukito allowed himself to be pulled close. Touya crushed Yukito's chest against his own and let his arms go around the delicate figure, trying to hold the suddenly fragile boy together, trying to keep the sobs from shaking him to pieces. Yukito pressed his face into the hollow of Touya's neck, still careful to keep his tears hidden.

Touya was focused so hard on Yukito's heavy, suppressed sobs and was listening so carefully for any change in the other boy's breathing that he almost didn't notice that he had begun tracing large, soothing circles on Yuki's back with his palm. Some part of his ministrations must have been working, though, because after only a few long minutes Yukito's breathing evened out, matching Touya's, and his sobs came farther and farther apart. Slowly, slowly Touya felt Yukito relax, felt his heartbeat return to normal, felt him ease into a comfortable position in Touya's lap, but he still wouldn't show Touya his face.

After nearly ten minutes of even, unbroken breathing, Touya began to hope that Yukito had fallen asleep. A moment later, however, Yuki belied this pretty illusion by beginning to speak in a hard, bitter, splintered torrent.

At first, the sensation of Yukito mouthing the words against the sensitive skin of Touya's neck made his heart pound and the blood drain from his face – but then he heard the dry, cracked voice that was making its muffled way up to his ears, and lost all notions of comfort or pleasure.

"My heart is breaking. My heart is breaking. My heart is breaking," Yukito was repeating over and over again, as if it were a mantra or a spell. This was broken by a bitter laugh, and Yukito pulled his face away from Touya's neck, leaning back against the circle made by Touya's arms. "You're holding me in your arms, but my heart is breaking. I love you more than you can possibly imagine, more than I can possibly express, but all I see when I look into your face is the shadow of a different face, all I feel in your arms is the shadow of a different embrace. I can't even tell if my heart is breaking for me or for Yue, for you or for Clow, but my heart feels like it's splintering in my chest-" Yukito choked on his last word, hunching his shoulders against a sudden pain. The entire time that he had been speaking, he had kept his hands politely resting in his own lap, his eyes carefully resting on his hands. Touya realized with a sick lurch that Yukito was expecting to be pushed away, although he wasn't sure whether it was his profession of love for him or for Clow that he thought would be rejected. Fighting to keep his own expression neutral – unwilling to tax Yukito's already over-burdened heart even more by showing pain on his face – Touya dragged Yukito close to him once more, and murmured "I love you," once, softly, into Yukito's hair.

That seemed to be all the invitation that Yukito needed. His arms snaked up and around Touya's neck, and he buried his hands in the other boy's hair. They stayed that way for a long time, each a little afraid of moving, each unwilling to break the small serenity they had created for themselves. Finally, Yukito brought their faces together until their foreheads and noses were just a millimeter away from touching.

"Thank you," he breathed. "Thank you, and I'm sorry, and I love you, each a million times."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Touya muttered, a rumble which Yukito felt rather than heard.

"I have everything to apologize for," he countered. "I'm sorry I'm putting you through this. I'm sorry you went and fell in love with a boy with two faces, with two hearts, who's not even human to boot. I'm sorry that I'm not sure I love, or see, or feel the same way you do – I'm not sure I know how to. I'm sorry that I'm still in love with a man I've never even met. I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough to hold myself together. I'm sorry that I need you tonight."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Touya repeated. "And since I'm planning on staying by your side for the rest of our lives, needing me tonight shouldn't be too much of a problem. Can you walk?"

Yukito had to consider his answer. "I think so," he said finally. "I hope so, at least. Yue is in no condition to be on the surface right now."

"He does seem to be taking all this a little harder than you," Touya agreed, ghosting his lips over Yukito's forehead.

"Think about it, love," Yukito scolded quietly. He was certainly calming down, Touya realized, if he could muster the presence of mind to reprimand him. "I never met Clow, so I can convince myself that it's just a false memory or a shade that I'm in love with. Yue knows you both, and loves you both with the love of a lifetime. I'm not sure that I could bear it."

As Yuki was talking, Touya shifted him in his arms and managed to lift them both to their feet. Touya was glad that, once up, Yukito didn't immediately crumple to the ground, but his arm stayed across Touya's shoulders, and he leant on the taller boy heavily.

"Let's go home," Touya said, leading Yukito away from the still-open French doors, around the side of the house to the front. "I think we've both had enough of this house for one lifetime."

Yukito was about to remind him that he wasn't wearing any shoes, but the words died on his lips. No sooner had they rounded the corner of the house, a rush of sweet magic swept the two of them up, engulfing them, suffocating them …

And the next time that Yukito opened his eyes, he was lying sprawled across Touya, in Touya's bed, with sunlight streaming in through the window and the smell of cherry blossoms still strong in his nose.

**Author's Notes:**

**1) Actually, it was Yuuko who once told Touya that Clow Reed had a reincarnation named Eriol Hiiragizawa – Eriol was wrong when he attributed it to Kaho (you could fill a small volume with everything that Clow got wrong, in my book – for example, Yukito's sexuality).**

**2) There is one spot in this story where I follow the anime, rather than manga-verse. It's Yukito's outfit in the second chapter: the pink sweater and khaki pants come straight from the anime.**

**3) The idea that Clow tried to bewitch Yuki / Yue into falling in love with Sakura properly belongs to Madhumalati. But it fit so well in my story that I decided to borrow it…**

**4) Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I was perplexed by the number of people who commented on the complexity of Touya's character, though. My goal had been to write a story to complexify Yukito's character – I get a little tired of reading about Yukito weeping delicately into Touya's arms – but I guess it ended up working the other way.**

**5) Sorry for the angst. Writing angst is not my strong suit, but Yukito goes through so much the last few volumes of the manga that I can't work out a way that he could **_**not**_** have some sort of break down. That being said, please REVIEW and improve my angst-writing technique!**

**6) Yes, there will be an epilogue. Yes, it will be more traditionally fluffy, for all you fluff-lovers out there. There might even be an updated version of this chapter, but I promised you mid-May and gosh darnit I keep my promises!**

**7) Please REVIEW, and I'll see you soon… **


	4. Epilogue: Picking Up the Pieces

**The last installment is finally here. Thanks for the company and the support, everyone.**

For the next five days, Yukito was a shadow of his former self. He hardly spoke, he didn't eat, and his face became a pale, blank mask. If anyone asked, he insisted that he was fine, and each enquiry seemed to drive him deeper and deeper into himself.

There was an unspoken understanding between all of the Kinomotos and Yukito, after the incident, that their home was now his. Touya didn't know if Fujitaka was supporting this change because his newfound power gave him insight into Yukito's true family situation (or lack thereof), or if it was just Fujitaka's nurturing nature rebelling against sending Yukito back to what the man assumed were neglectful grandparents. Fujitaka had always treated Yukito like a second son, so not much in the family dynamic changed. It was a tendency that Touya knew the other boy had appreciated. – he only hoped that now, knowing Fujitaka's true identity, Yukito still gleaned the same comfort from his father's paternal demeanor.

Fujitaka's first order of business as Yukito's surrogate father was to try to get the boy to take the next few days off of school, a sentiment that Sakura earnestly echoed. Yukito declined, and Touya didn't even try to change his mind. He knew that mulish set to the shoulders, that dangerous glint in the otherwise soft amber eyes, and that obstinate jut of the lower lip too well to delude himself into thinking he'd have any success. Besides, Yukito, in denying Sakura's suggestion, had gone against his Master's express wishes – that sort of willpower wouldn't be easily shaken.

In school, Yukito tried his best to act normally. It was a commendable effort, but it was very obvious to his teachers and classmates that there was something seriously wrong. Two competing rumors surfaced that first Monday back at school. During English, Yukito's emotionless mask slipped, and he had to excuse himself abruptly, claiming that he had a head-ache. After five minutes, Touya went after him, not bothering to give the teacher an excuse. When he returned alone twenty minutes later, he was met by poorly-controlled whispers and curious glances. During lunch, a girl that he had gone to Junior High and High School with informed him of the first rumor that was circulating:

"They're saying that he confessed his love to you, and you rejected him," she bit her lip nervously as she spoke, knowing Touya's infamous temper when it came to rumors. "I don't think anyone really _believes_ it – I mean, they all saw the look on your face when you went after him. And I told them that they were crazy if they thought that you'd do something like that, to hurt your boyfriend so badly."

It had been a week of major shocks for Touya. The realization that the whole school considered him and Yukito to be a formal couple hardly registered on the chart of surprises.

The other rumor was told to him by – of all people – their class's English teacher. Kazuya-Sensei held Touya back after the bell, to ask him if Yukito was all right. Touya shrugged awkwardly, unwilling to answer for the other boy, and the teacher nodded in sympathy.

"I read in the newspaper that his grandparents passed away over the weekend. I didn't want to make Yukito feel uncomfortable by saying anything at the beginning of class, because I always got the feeling that he and his grandparents weren't close, but will you tell him from me that he should go ahead and take all the time off that he needs? I'll work with him personally to make sure he gets caught up before his entrance exams, if I have to."

At that, Touya's mouth dropped open. He wasn't sure whether it was Clow's magic or Sakura's that was responsible for the fake obituary, but he certainly wasn't going to argue with such a convenient excuse for Yukito's emotional turmoil.

"I don't think he wants to miss any school," Touya said lamely, once he had collected himself.

"I expected as much," Kazuya-Sensei murmured. "The truly good students, like you two, never realize that it's okay to take a breather once in a while. Take care of him, Touya."

Touya nodded, fervently hoping that he would be able to.

After that first day, Yukito's blank mask didn't slip, and Touya hoped that that meant that his pain was getting easier to bear. But as the days began counting up to almost a week, Touya started to realize that it was exactly the opposite: Yukito might be getting acclimated to the pain, but it certainly wasn't easing – the better his mask, the deeper he pushed the hurt, the more damage it was doing to his heart.

By the third day, Touya was getting scared. His four attempts to broach the situation with Yukito had been brushed aside with increasing degrees of annoyance, and each one had been followed by the boy isolating himself a little more. Yukito's behavior reminded him of nothing as much as the period of time when Yukito had been fading away, keeping his true thoughts and desires hidden behind a counterfeit smile in order to prevent himself from being a burden. Touya still had nightmares about that time – and while Touya knew that this problem wouldn't make Yukito disappear, he was worried that the consequences if he didn't step in might be even higher.

The breaking point came that Thursday, when Touya witnessed Yukito respond to praise from their English teacher and censure from their Chemistry teacher without changing his facial expression or vocal inflection at all, as if both occurrences were the same in Yukito's mind: an irritating, but unpreventable contact with the world outside himself.

As soon as the last bell rang that day, Touya was on his feet. He waited for Yukito to pack his book-bag, then grabbed his hand and began dragging him out of the room.

"W-wait, Touya, I have some things I need to finish here," Yukito protested, cheeks stained pink that Touya was holding his hand in school.

Touya didn't stop. The entire school already thought that they were seriously dating, and he was sick of watching his love descend into despair.

"I know, and I have soccer practice. I don't care. We're going home. I need to talk to you."

Usually it was Yukito who was the stubborn one, but there must have been something in Touya's face or voice that warned the smaller boy not to argue. He allowed himself to be escorted all the way home, dragged up the stairs, and shoved unceremoniously into a sitting position on Touya's bed.

"Look," Touya said, pacing the length of his bedroom agitatedly, running a hand through his hair in his distraction. "I know that you've had a tough time this week. I can't even imagine what you've been going through, let alone pretend to understand. But it might be a little easier if you would talk to someone about it. I get it, you don't want to talk to me. But can you talk to Sakura? Or a school councilor? You need to get out of this habit of assuming that you're causing trouble for people when you think about yourself around them. You might think it's selfishness, but it's not. What's selfish is when you try to keep the people who love you from helping you, and force them to watch you suffer and fade away without the opportunity of doing anything!"

It was probably the longest speech that Touya had ever made, and he said the last two sentences to the closed door to avoid having to see Yukito's expression as he talked. When he finally turned back to his love, he had to stifle a gasp of surprise.

Yukito was sitting upright and rigid, right hand pressed over his heart as if to hold it in place. His face was white, his lips were pursed together into a painful line, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

Touya crossed the room in two quick strides, and then paused, hovering over Yukito as if not sure what to do.

Yukito took a deep, shuddering gasp of air… and started talking.

Touya listened.

**...**

The Card Clan (as Kero had affectionately taken to calling the occupants of the Kinomoto residence) enjoyed a quiet few weeks. Then, to absolutely no one's surprise, strange and obviously supernatural incidences once again began to crop up, and Sakura was called upon to find their source and stop them.

"Power calls to power," Touya remarked dully the morning after Sakura had found the perpetrator and stripped him of his magic. Touya was making coffee – not something that he usually did – but he had been up all night leaping across Tokyo rooftops, trying to keep the girl and her guardians in view, and he was tired.

"Don't say it like that," Yukito groaned from his seat at the kitchen table. He was, if possible, more tired than Touya – he had spent the night flying over Tokyo rooftops shooting magic at the meddler. "You sound like you're prophesying when you use that tone of voice. And pour me a mug of that."

But in fact, prophesy or not, Touya's statement turned out to be true. The Kinomotos had another restful week before a second magician began making trouble, and two weeks after that it was a sorceress.

"We've been really lucky," Sakura said thoughtfully over dinner one evening, about three days after the sorceress had been defeated and sent back to Germany. "All of these little episodes have been at night, and there have been almost no people around."

"That's because it would cause trouble for the other guys, too, if they were to show their powers in a crowded place. Magic isn't supposed to exist anymore – they won't want the attention any more than you do," Kero said wisely, trying to use the stubby little arms that his temporary form was equipped with to work a set of chopsticks.

"But one of these days we're going to come across a magic practitioner who won't be so careful," Yukito said grimly, taking pity on the fuzz-ball and feeding him off of his own plate. "Sooner or later they're going to figure out that Sakura's at her most vulnerable when there are a lot of people around, because that's when she can't risk accidentally hurting someone with her magic, or creating a mess that thousands of people will see."

"What are you guys going to do if Sakura _is_ threatened during the day?" Touya asked, shooting Yukito an annoyed glance at the attention he was giving the sun guardian. "Do you have some sort of plan?"

The three magic-users exchanged a speaking look.

And that was how the four of them ended up meeting in the "War Room" later that same night.

"Kero has started watching war documentaries," Sakura whispered to her brother by way of explanation. They were all sitting on Sakura's bed, facing a white board that Kero had scrawled **Battle Strategy** across the top.

Unsurprisingly, the meeting involved a lot of bickering, three incidences of spontaneous combustion, and Touya knocking Kero across the room after the orange ball of stuffing suggested that Yuki and Touya go across the hall to play with Touya's pistol. At one point, Fujitaka actually had to come in and help settle things down.

"Kids," he said sternly, dousing Sakura's smoldering bedspread with a look, "I know you all are having fun, but it's a school night. And I don't want the neighbors to call the fire department again because they smell something burning."

"Sorry, Dad," all four of them chorused, which startled a smile out of Fujitaka. After Eriol had split his magic between the two of them, Fujitaka had learned that he was responsible for the "birth" of Yue and Kero, but each reminder caught him by surprise.

In the end, the only thing that got decided was that, in the unfortunate event that Sakura was threatened during the day, they would try to finish it as soon as possible and then use the cards to right whatever messes were left over.

"Besides," Yukito tried to reassure Touya before he retired to his own room for the night, "Sakura can erase people's memories, if anyone sees something they shouldn't. Me and Kero stay close enough to her that we'll be able to reach her before anything disastrous happens. Don't worry about it." But Touya still looked troubled.

And it just so happened that the Card Clan had an opportunity to employ their strategy later that week.

It was a Tuesday, the day of a big Chemistry exam – their last one of the year. The test had been first thing in the morning, and with the weather turning fine and graduation peeking over the horizon, the High School Seniors had very little motivation to do anything at all after first period. During Calculus that afternoon, most of the class was staring listlessly out of the windows, daydreaming about the end of the year and pretending to take notes. Touya was staring totally unabashedly at the love of his life, who sat just next to him, near the back of the room. He was admiring the way that Yukito's eyes turned even softer than usual when he was daydreaming – when Yukito suddenly tensed up. He whipped his head around, as if he had heard something alarming in the distance, stood up – and was engulfed in a waterfall of pearly, yellow light.

When the light receded, a very disgruntled Yue was standing near the center of the classroom, teeth bared in annoyance. Every eye in the room was trained directly on him, most of them widened in shock and fear. Three girls screamed, and at least one boy laughed in surprise.

"Damnit," Yue swore softly. "That was bad. I should have been able to at least get out of the classroom before transforming."

Without realizing it, Touya had risen to his feet.

"Yue, what is it?" he said sharply. "What's going on?" Indigo eyes narrowed as Yue began sensing for the stimulus that had triggered his transformation. They snapped wide again when he found it.

"A danger approaches my Master," he said grimly. "It is very powerful, and very fast, and is no longer quite human. Stay here," he snarled, training a dangerous glare on Touya. "I need you to stay out of the way." With that, he whirled around and made as if to burst through the glass of the classroom windows.

"Yue, wait!" Touya yelled after him. To his total surprise, Yue did.

Touya still wasn't quite comfortable around the moon guardian. He loved him, of course, but they had exchanged very few words since that night on Clow's lawn, and Touya wasn't sure how well Yue was adjusting to having his love appropriated by some upstart boy who was the son of one of Clow's reincarnations.

Yue slowly turned around to face him, and when he did the breath caught in Touya's throat. Shimmering deep in Yue's eyes was an emotion that Touya had never seen there before. It softened his features, and made the angel look both infinitely wise and a little sad.

Yue crossed the distance between them with one quick snap of his wings.

"I'm sorry, darling," he murmured softly, catching one of Touya's hands in his, and placing the other against the boy's cheek. When Yue spoke like that, low and soft, his voice actually sounded like music. Each word sounded to Touya like the whisper of a thousand wind chimes, or the rustling call of a million birds. "I know you hate to feel useless," a frown was marring the angel's perfect, moonlight pale face, and the only thing that Touya could think was that he wanted to somehow erase that frown, "but I think that this attacker might be too strong for me to be able to protect both you and Sakura at the same time. Please love?" Yue nuzzled the side of Touya's head with his cheek on the last word. "Please stay out of harm's way for me?"

Touya nodded dumbly, unable to quite comprehend what was going on.

"Thank you!" Yue chirped, his eyes almost disappearing in a true smile. Suddenly, impulsively, the angel leaned forward and pressed his mouth against Touya's.

Touya's heart sang out at the sudden, long-awaited contact, and somewhere deep inside Yue, the boy felt the answering call of a power that had once been his. His eyes widened as he felt that power resonate through his own body, connecting them, making them whole and one. With a lurch, he realized that he was seeing the world as he used to see it, through the eyes of his Second Sight. The auras of his classmates glowed around him in a dizzying array of colors and textures. The blood burned in his body, his mind whirled in a frantic ecstasy of sight and touch and psyche – and then Yue was gone, exploding through the window in a shower of splintered wood and shattered glass, and was flying away across the grounds to get to Sakura.

Touya sat back down in his chair with a _fwump_, feeling cold and lonely and unbelievably mundane. The world had gone back to normal, the only sight he had came from light passing through his pupils, and the world seemed to be painted in an infinite supply of grey.

"Kinomoto," Touya's Calculus teacher said in an unnaturally high voice, breaking Touya out of his reverie. "Would you mind telling us _what in the world is going on?_"

It took Touya a moment to collect himself. "No, Sensei, I can't," he said finally, voice heavy with the laugh he was trying to control. "But I can assure you that tomorrow morning you won't remember that any of this ever happened."

**...**

The Sunday of graduation day dawned sunny and hot. Commencement was on the lawn, early enough to beat the heat. All of the teachers agreed that they had never had a prettier commencement ceremony. For one thing, all of the trees were still blooming, even this late in June. The weather channel had run a special report on it the night before: the flowers in Tomoeda, nowhere else in Japan, and tripled the previous bloom record.

Touya suspected Sakura, as he did when anything fortunate and out-of-the-ordinary happened. But as he watched Yukito walk across the raised platform and take his diploma from underneath a canopy of nadeshiko and sakura blossoms, he had to admit that it was magic well spent.

After the ceremony there was a reception, also on the lawn. At first, all the graduates ran to find their parents, and the families mingled in large, unwieldy clumps. Touya and Yukito had finished third and fifth in their class, respectively, so by the end of the first forty-five minutes they both had their smiles frozen in place, so many times had they bowed and thanked the parents of one or another of their classmates congratulating them on their academic performance. Fujitaka was bursting with pride, and kind-hearted Sakura was practically floating off the ground in joy and admiration for her big brother and his best friend.

After a while, however, the new graduates began to break off and form little groups of their own. It was, after all, the last time that many of them would get to see each other, and they were determined to make the most of the time that they had. Spirits were high – everywhere you looked there were smiles, laughing faces, friends embracing, and acquaintances exchanging e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. The jubilant atmosphere even seemed to have infected Touya – he, too, was talking and laughing animatedly – or at least as animatedly as Touya ever did anything.

Fujitaka left with Sakura after another half an hour.

"Oh, no, you boys stay here," Fujitaka told them, smiling. "Have a good time with your friends. We'll go out to eat tonight to celebrate."

Touya and Yukito stayed for another hour. Yukito was pleased to see that Touya was in a mellow, demonstrative mood. He kept squeezing Yukito's hand, and even suffered some of his female admirers to hug him before the two boys left together.

"So, what did you think?" Touya asked, as the two boys walked slowly home. A smile was still playing at Touya's features, softening his face, and it made Yukito feel sentimental just to look at it.

Yukito sighed in contentment. "I'd say that this day has been nearly perfect," he smiled.

Touya placed a firm hand on Yukito's shoulder, stopping him. Yukito blinked in surprise. They were standing just by the park bench under the big old maple and oak trees that the two boys used to visit nearly every day last fall. Yukito's eyes crinkled just a little as he remembered all the times that Touya, still getting used to life without his psychic powers, had fallen asleep on his shoulder as they watched the leaves gently fall off the branches in elegant swirls.

"What is it?" Yukito asked, turning to face his friend. Touya left his hand on Yukito's shoulder, and brought the other hand up to brush Yukito's bangs away from his face. Yukito was blushing now, but it was a gentle, happy blush that matched the atmosphere of the day.

"You said that this day has been _nearly_ perfect," Touya murmured, his voice coming out as more of a rumble than a pitch. With each word, he lent a little closer to the shorter boy. Finally, gently, he placed his mouth over Yukito's.

Like he had when Yue had kissed him, Touya again felt an echo from the magic that had once been his. But this time the echo was soft, and sweet, and faint, and he tasted the difference rather than seeing and feeling it as he had with Yue. But the way that Yukito's body became light and relaxed under his mouth and hands, the way that the boy began gently responding and drawing Touya deeper and deeper in… was almost better.

"What about now?" Touya whispered, pulling his face far enough away that he could look Yukito in the eyes.

Yukito was smiling a totally new type of smile, one that Touya was proud to have created.

"Now it's perfect."

**Author's Notes: I'm not totally happy with the first third of this story, but that part was extremely hard for me to write, so I'm not sure that I'll do much editing of it. I made a few little edits to chapter three, just to make it flow a little more naturally, in case anyone is keeping track.**

**My last little trick was to have Yue and Touya's first kiss come before Yuki and Touya's. I thought it was cute, and a little surprising, but I may have been taking some liberties with their characters. I also took some liberties with the time frame, I believe. I inserted a grace week in between the climax and the conversation where Yukito tells Touya that he's grateful to Clow for having created him. Oh, well, though – that's life.**

**Thank you so much for reading this, encouraging me, and giving me feedback. I'll be back soon with another story, but for now I'm moving onto a long-overdue Demon Diary fanfiction. Maybe I'll see some of you there…**

**If anyone knows how to format section breaks, drop me a line letting me know please! I could never figure out how to insert them.**

**Love,**

**Cloudy**


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